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I've been doing something new for the last week or so during my run and I'm loving it. I am the biggest music/podcast/anything listener when I run. I love it. I race with music, I get a little bit too personally attached to podcasts that I listen to while I run and when I am running with friends… I'm not sure if I even take breaths for air because I love to talk so much during the run.
A lot of you are already silent runners and you are amazing… lately, I've been doing 10-20 minutes of my run in silence. I don't start out without my music/headphones (goodness, I need the motivation of something to get me started) but somewhere along the way I just turn off any noise for a little while and it feels SO nice. I focus on the little things around me that I see… the frost on the grass, the clouds, the outlines of the mountains, the parents trying to get their kiddos off to school on time, the sound I make with each step, seeing my breath in front of me (yep, it's that cold here in the mornings), I say a little prayer and think about the fam. Some days I feel like I hear noise/things all day long and I'm really loving taking time during my run to not have any noise (even though I love my music). Sometimes even small switches like this that we make with our running helps to motivate/excite us and get us out the door. It can also be a time that you focus on your form, your breathing or your goals. Try it out on your next run if you are normally a music/podcast/books on tape 100% of the time runner and let me know how it goes! I want to continue to do this even when I am doing speed work again and learn to focus on things other than what I'm listening to.
Anyone else try to take their jacket off after their run and forget that their watch is on over the sleeve and then it gets stuck on the watch and takes 8 minutes to get the dang jacket off because it gets tangled with the watch!? Okay, just me.
Just wanting to wear my running gloves to school (how long will she be okay with me taking her to school in my running clothes?).
My Monday run: 7.3 miles + 39 degrees = a 7:48 mile for my last mile of my run. It has been a LONG time since I have gone that fast but these temperatures do something good for me. I did get a lot of stares running around in shorts though… as long as my hands are warm, I'm happy. The rest isn't as important. My Tuesday run: 7 miles!
The other day when I started my run on the treadmill I accidentally pumped off the emergency stop thing with my belly about 2 miles in and took that as my cue to go outside. I need to put tape on my treadmill again to help me stay back a bit (in this post I explain why putting tape on your treadmill can be helpful).
Those snow capped mountains are pretty gorgeous. I think they were only snowless for 2.5 months this year ha.
I was thinking about this the other day… Brooke is going to be 5.3 years older than her little sister. My sister is 7 years older than me and she's been my best friend (I don't think I was her best friend until I was a bit older;) since day one.
Brooke and her little sister may have a bit of a gap in between them but I think that is not going to hold them back from being super close their whole lives. My sister and me:
A few things we've been up to lately!
*Some library book reading.
*My friend Jess invited us to a jump house and food truck party the other night. ANDREW EVEN WORE A COAT;)
* I am pretty sure she went down this slide 400 times.
*Andrew brought these over to our table… Brooke's idea of complete heaven.
*They also had mini pumpkin spice donuts there.
*The donuts gave them a little bit too much energy afterwards;)
*You can't see these very well but my entire body was covered in goosebumps. I was listening to Pandora while getting ready (Andrew is convinced I'm the only person that listens to Pandora?!) and a This Is Us commercial came on. My eyes teared up and I had goosebumps everywhere. I am saving the episode for my treadmill run this morning (along with a few quiet minutes where I'll probably still be crying over the episode) and I CANNOT WAIT.
*We went to BYU again to get my current wrap obsession. I ate one of these every single day when I was in college and for some reason I have been wanting them so bad again (that is mango inside)!
*Swim lessons were a success… Brooke was doing the freestyle stroke!
*A walk last night because moving around helps the nighttime nausea when it comes! Both kids are officially training-wheels free!
*Megan D sent this to me and I officially need to try it. Today. I haven't had a pancake in like 4 whole days:)
****It is Knox's BIRTHDAY TODAY (he comes home this morning too so we will be celebrating like crazy all day)!! He is now 5 and if you leave him a happy birthday comment I will read it to him (feel free to include any talk about Michael Jackson, the army, police, sour candy or Halloween)!
I have a mini survey for you today! Some of the questions are from something I saw on Facebook and the rest are random things! I always love hearing your answers (to a few or all of them)! Just copy and paste these to your comment to answer:
Favorite place you've traveled to?
Worst pain you've ever experienced?
Who was the last person you took a picture with?
If you could talk to ANYONE right now, who would it be?
Ever had stitches?
Nail polish… yay or nay?
If you could have any career, what would it be?
Does pineapple belong on pizza?
You have the remote; what channel?
If you were an animal… what would you be?
Did you grow up in the city or country?
Are you taller than your mom?
When was the last time you cried?
What percentage of the time are you listening to something while you work out?


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By Damien McElroy, Richard Spencer and Magdy Samaan
The Syrian government's assault on Aleppo appeared to have stalled on Tuesday night as rebels claimed new victories against the increasingly demoralised troops of Bashar al-Assad.
Rebels now believe they can capture the country's biggest city within days despite being outgunned.
On Tuesday they stormed a number of bases including police stations in Aleppo suburbs, killing as many as 40 members of the security forces, following their capture of a key checkpoint on the road to the Syrian border the day before.
State media meanwhile said troops were still "pursuing terrorists" in the suburb of Salaheddin, which on Monday it claimed to control, as well a list of other districts.
Mohana Abu Bakri, commander of the rebel Abu Emara Battalion, told The Daily Telegraph the front line in
Salaheddin remained where it had been the day before, despite heavy fighting. Other rebels reported bombing runs by both jets and helicopters.
"Thanks to the shelling there is hardly a street without holes in its houses or totally collapsed houses," he said.
The regime has been forced into using air power as tanks, even those not ambushed on their way in as increasing numbers have been, are proving an ineffective tool in the city's narrow streets.
Rebel units scattered for cover during an air attack on Miayasr in Aleppo's south, next to Salaheddin, following the predawn rebel capture of two police stations, a military court, an air force intelligence headquarters and a branch of the ruling Ba'ath party.
Louay Mokdar, an organiser for the Free Syrian Army in Turkey, claimed the dead from the police station attacks included a colonel, as well as intelligence officers and members of the "shabiha" militia. Dozens more were captured and taken to rebel prisons.
It is now 12 days since a sudden push swept the rebels into the metropolis of two million, with the government counter-attack coming four days ago.
The course of the battle so far has bolstered rebel confidence. The Syrian army has moved cautiously under the cover of artillery fire and air support.
But the rebels were increasingly bullish on Tuesday.
"We don't have goals for the coming months. We have goals for the coming days. Within days, God willing, Aleppo will be liberated," said Col Abdel-Jabber al-Oqaidi, head of the Joint Military Council in Aleppo, who defected from the Syrian army six months ago.
"We secure our areas and then move to other neighbourhoods, pushing towards the city centre.
"The regime's capabilities are also being weakened. They can shell us from afar with tanks and helicopters. But inside their morale is zero."
Four tank crews in Salaheddin surrendered as soon as opposition fighters appeared. Mr Abu Bakri said 16 defectors had crossed over to his side in Salaheddin yesterday and 30-40 more in a neighbouring district.
Taha Ahmed, a military vet who works on securing defections from an Army Ranger's base north of Aleppo said his task was becoming easier.
"The officers have been too scared to move but they are now talking with us," he said. "We have some infiltrators inside and we are gaining day by day defectors to join the Free Syria Army."
Abu Abdul Jabr, another rebel leader, said he believed the fight for Aleppo would be finished by the end of Ramadan, the holy fasting month, in mid-August.
"The government controls nothing any more, except through shelling and artillery," the bearded former interior decorator said in the front line town of Marea. "They can make a massacre but that is it.
"We have the resolution to fight. It means with us one month on the streets is equivalent to five years in military services. The troops don't have the strength to match us and are defecting whenever they can."
But the rebels do not have things all their own way. The regime still has troops in reserve, and is luring the opposition out.
Three rebel convoys were ambushed on Tuesday. In one case, a detachment of 20 men that went to relieve an outpost on the Nerha bridge on the edge of Salaheddin thought it had forged a deal for safe passage with a local family but found itself walking into a trap.
As rebel cars circled a roundabout, Shabiha gunmen opened fire. Grenades were thrown and security forces snipers targeted drivers. By the time the squad withdrew eight were dead.

subset: commoncrawl


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How does a highly successful, global market-leading company such as Cisco Systems justify cutting 4,000 of its 66,000-plus employees–a rather large chunk of its workforce–when the company is doing just fine financially?
While that personnel move looks preposterous, this is not a simple question to answer.
While shareholders and analysts are looking at past and present performance, Cisco CEO John Chambers and his board of directors are living in the future. They're looking way ahead at what they perceive to be coming down the pike 12, 18, 24 months from now. What they see obviously worries them.
It's true that the Internet's plumbing is pretty well built out after 20 years, and while there is still new construction going on, most of the future work will be in equipment maintenance and replacement. The switch-and-router gold rush days are over, and Cisco knows it.
Moving into new business sectors
This is precisely why Cisco has moved into promising new business: cloud computing, unified enterprise IT systems, mobile device management, TelePresence and others. OK, so the Flip video thing didn't work out. Stuff happens.
Nonetheless, how does a company justify putting 4,000 families out of work when there's nothing but black ink and promising new markets all around? Chambers cannot point to the P&L statement and blame that for the layoffs. The San Jose, Calif.-based networking giant's profit beat Wall Street estimates and improved to $2.27 billion (42 cents per share) from $1.92 billion (36 cents per share) in the same quarter a year ago.
This all adds up to a $350 million profit in the last three months. Revenue was up a healthy $730 million in the quarter, too. A lot of companies around the world would like to be reporting those numbers.
Chambers 'concerned' about emerging markets
"We're executing well, but we're a little bit concerned in terms of the inconsistent data coming out of the GDP growth in emerging markets," Chambers told Bloomberg News in an interview. "Our expenses this next year will be flat to up. The market is moving at a very rapid rate. Our cloud, mobility and video businesses are all growing fast. Key takeaway is that you've got to put resources where your growth is occurring."
So this means that older divisions within Cisco–the ones that put the company on the world map–will see most of the cutbacks.
"Cisco should have taken these actions sooner, but in a way, they are suffering, naturally, from the classic innovator's dilemma," Patrick Moorhead, president and principal strategy at Moor Insights and Strategy, told eWEEK. "They are the 800-pound gorilla in networking, so in a way, it's harder for them to create something new that would change market dynamics. Change doesn't benefit Cisco, the status quo does."
Newer initiatives gaining traction–but how fast?
There's no question that Cisco's key markets are leveling off, but its newer initiatives–cloud computing, data center equipment, mobility solutions–are gaining traction. The correct query is: How much, and how quickly?
"The numbers are clearly showing that Cisco is growing in new markets, but it's important to peel the numbers back and look at the details," Moorhead said. "Let's take their data center numbers. Cisco is growing and doing well in blades, but their overall server market share is only 2 percent, extremely small when compared to HP's 24 percent and Dell's 22 percent share. HP and Dell are literally 10 times larger than Cisco in servers."
It is time to rethink strategies around deploying networking, Moorhead said.
"The largest, scale-out data centers in the world are already moving off of expensive, proprietary networking and onto more open networking," Moorhead said. "History has shown that the scale-out trends can wind up in enterprise data centers in a few years as the open-source community ramps up."
Two key approaches to data center business
Enterprise data centers need to be considering two approaches, Moorhead said.
"First is experimenting with, and the more aggressive shops rolling out, an open-standard SDN approach," he said. "The second is to consider an entire converged infrastructure approach, blending server, storage, networking and security. Full-service providers for converged approaches include HP Converged Infrastructure, Dell Active Infrastructure, Cisco UCS and IBM PureSystems."
That's some pretty serious international competition. Cisco has to regroup to be competitive there.
So that's where Cisco will soon be reallocating its resources as it lays off 5 percent of its workforce, moves some people into new jobs and then hires back others to fill gaps in other product areas.
Of course, there is method to Cisco's actions; it didn't get to its current status by making major mistakes.
Still, it's tough to explain that to any of the 4,000 folks who will lose their jobs at Cisco during the next year.


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Do you like "Witchboard?" Of course you do, who doesn't? Well
despite this film being written and directed by Kevin Tenney of
Witchboard fame, this motion picture is NOT A SEQUEL TO "WITCHBOARD!" You
will be alerted to this by a notice on the back of the handsome Magnum
slip cover as well as a warning at the beginning of the movie itself.
This warning immediately succeeds a trailer to... wait for it...
Witchboard. But it's not a sequel.
It is impossible to
begin to review Witchtrap without first addressing the sound, which is
entirely dubbed. Despite the movie's humble budget, (which was spent
mostly on explosions, melt effects and Linnea Quigley), it is definitely
a movie that wouldn't ordinarily be dubbed. VHS Summer's own Max
Dropout has a bit of insight into this from when he screened this film
last year and spoke with the director - he may be able to provide an
addendum as to why the original audio was compromised. It certainly
limits its effectiveness as a horror movie, but it adds a great deal of
comedic levity, especially the one-liners from the main characters. (We had to get Kevin to the airport fairly early the day after the "Witchboard" screening, but we had breakfast at IHOP on the way to the airport. I was still groggy, and had a mouthful of pancakes when we talked about the audio, so my memory might be slightly warped. I do remember him telling me that the audio was lost -- but part of me recollects him telling me that it was actually stolen, which makes it even weirder. Who the fuck steals the audio for a film? That's an ultimate dickhead move since you can't really do anything practical with it. - M.D.)
plot of the film surrounds a haunted mansion and its heir, Devon
Lauter, who is bound not to sell or demolish it by the will of his
deceased uncle, Avery Lauter He is trying to rid the place of the
lingering spirit of his uncle so he can turn the place into a B&B,
and he assembles a crew to do the job. Half of the crew are
metaphysical types, half are detectives paid to run security for the
operation, and Linnea Quigley is the A/V tech (niiiice!). From the
get-go, it's fairly obvious who's going to live and who's going to die.
The story has some interesting points and is executed fairly well with
some nice effects, but it's not really the plot that makes this a fun
watch, it's the visual style and dialogue.
The banter
between the detectives is hilarious. With lines like, "He may be a
walking hard-on with feet, but he's a good detective", and, "I wouldn't
drink that if I were you... it's as flat as my ex-wife's chest", there's
no shortage of laughs to be had, even if the viewer is laughing at, not
with, these characters. The main character, Tony Vicente, is the best
casting job in the movie, by far. He carries this movie with his
partner, Levi Jackson, and their buddy cop vibe works pretty well. The
psychic-type people are thoroughly annoying with their pomposity and
crybaby antics. You start to really wish they would just die in
dramatic fashion, which makes a few kill scenes extra enjoyable. The
antics of the Deliverance-worthy groundskeeper, Elwin, are perfectly peppered into the mix to provide a change of pace.
this movie has maximum camp because of the dubbing and is an
interesting (enough) story with an engaging (enough) main character. It
has competent special effects and is visually pleasing from a technical
standpoint. It's an interesting little flick that, like the spirit
trapped in Laughter Mansion, will be confined forever to VHS. Floating
somewhere in the late '80s between "Witchboard" and "Witchboard 2," and featuring scream queen Quigley, Witchtrap does well to live up to its tagline "This time, it's not a game".... wait, "game"... like a Ouija board? Last time!?! JEEZ, IT'S NOT A SEQUEL!!
Sadly this film has no YouTube presence in English, however...


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KYOCERA Surpasses 2 Million Solar Modules Produced in North America
Production capacity in San Diego and Tijuana manufacturing facilities has doubled in the last two years
SAN DIEGO � December 13, 2012 � Kyocera Solar Inc., a leading supplier of reliable solar modules and renewable energy solutions, today announced that Kyocera's North American manufacturing facilities have surpassed production of two million photovoltaic (PV) solar modules. Kyocera has been producing modules in North America since 2004 and its solar solutions are used in a variety of applications including residential, commercial, and utility-scale projects across the Americas, Australia and select regions worldwide.
Kyocera has been a leading developer of innovative power solutions for more than 37 years, setting repeated world records in multicrystalline silicon cell efficiency and most recently producing cells with the highest conversion efficiency level in the world at 17.8 percent1. Manufacturing facilities in San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico produce PV solutions for rural and urban areas, harvesting the sun's energy to help power everything from remote villages solely reliant on solar power to large sports arenas and utility-scale solar farms.
"This milestone demonstrates Kyocera's ongoing leadership in growing the solar industry worldwide," said Steve Hill, president, Kyocera Solar Inc. "It took more than five years for Kyocera to reach the one million module mark at our North American operations and only two years to double it. We're seeing many regions increasingly embrace high-quality solar energy solutions, and ongoing innovations from Kyocera will continue to improve efficiencies."
Kyocera produced its first PV modules more than 30 years ago���� in Japan and expanded its production to Tijuana, Mexico in 2004. The Company increased its production again with its first U.S. production of solar modules in San Diego in 2010. In addition to the operations in San Diego and Tijuana, Kyocera currently has solar module manufacturing facilities in Japan, China and the Czech Republic.
Twenty-five Kyocera facilities worldwide feature their own on-site solar electric systems, with total generating capacity of 2.7 megawatts � including a 214-kilowatt Solar Grove parking lot in San Diego and a 100-kilowatt rooftop system in Tijuana. The Company's solar solutions are powering installations at notable locations in the San Diego/Tijuana region, including the San Diego Zoo; the SDG&E Energy Innovation Center; San Diego State University; University of California, San Diego; University of San Diego; Point Loma Nazarene University; San Diego Children's Museum and the Gloria E. McClellan Senior Center in Vista.
Kyocera established U.S. operations in 1969 and was the first Japan-based corporation to commence manufacturing operations in the State of California, in 1971.
1 Highest conversion efficiency of any multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic cell in mass production. Based on research by Kyocera; as of October 2012.
About KYOCERA
Kyocera is one of the world's largest vertically integrated producers and suppliers of solar photovoltaic modules and systems, with a history of innovation in solar technology since 1975. Recognized as a global leader and industry pioneer in solar power solutions, Kyocera is in a unique position to integrate its decades of experience into product development and support for both residential and industrial clients across the globe. Kyocera serves thousands of customers in both developed and developing regions, with more than 3 gigawatts of solar collection equipment installed worldwide. The company has set repeated world records in multicrystalline silicon cell efficiency and most recently gained the distinction of producing the world's first modules to pass the Long-Term Sequential Test for reliability performed by TUV Rheinland Japan Ltd.
Kyocera Solar Inc. is headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona with regional sales affiliates in the Americas and Australia.
Kyocera Corporation (NYSE:KYO) (TOKYO:6971) (http://global.kyocera.com/), the parent and global headquarters of the Kyocera Group, was founded in 1959 as a producer of fine ceramics (also known as "advanced ceramics"). By combining these engineered materials with metals and plastics, and integrating them with other technologies, Kyocera has become a leading supplier of solar power generating systems, printers, copiers, telecommunications equipment, electronic components, semiconductor packages, cutting tools and industrial components. During the year ended March 31, 2012, the company's net sales totaled 1.19 trillion yen (approx. USD14.5 billion). The company is ranked #426 on Forbes magazine's 2012 "Global 2000" listing of the world's largest publicly traded companies.


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Having ridden nearly every adventure bike on the market, both on and off-road, Guillien is able to provide a unique perspective on BMW's updated F800GS. "I've spent the bulk of my time adventure riding on this motorcycle," said Guillien, "I've logged about 10,000 miles, half of which were off-road on a 2009 F800GS and I am really excited to test the new 2013 F800GS."
"The F800GS was the first mid-weight adventure motorcycle," says Guillien. "Prior to its arrival, your only options were 650 singles and 1200cc twin cylinder bikes, but this was the first parallel twin 800cc motorcycle on the market and really created a new category." The benefit of a mid-weight motorcycle, Guillien says, "is that you still have really good power but the bike is a lot easier to manage, it's easier to turn around and it's a lot easier to get off of the sidestand, which makes it a really good fit for a lot of people."
For 2013, BMW Motorrad added a handful of new features to the F800GS, one of them is their ESA suspension system. "They've added damping in the rear shock," said Guillien, "there's nothing in place in the front fork, but the rear has three different settings for damping – there's a normal mode, a comfort mode and a sport mode, which you use for off-road or aggressive riding."
One of the other new features on the 2013 F800GS is a traction control system. "There's a switch that allows you to turn the traction control on and off. When you leave it on it basically cuts the ignition whenever the rear tire is spinning, which keeps the tire from rotating when you don't want it to and helps to keep the back of the motorcycle behind you," said Guillien.
Because the F800GS has long -travel suspension, one of the features Guillien feels makes the F800GS such a great bike off-road, some people, however, feel that it's a little too tall. So for 2013 BMW is offering a lowered version of the F800GS, which, according to Guillien "is great because it allows more people to have both feet on the ground and be comfortable." However, if you have an F800GS that is older than 2013, Touratech offers a lowering kit which decreases the seat height of the older model bikes.
"One of my favorite features of the F800GS is the transmission," said Guillien. "It's got a really quick shifting, dirt bike feel to the six-speed gearbox, and I was relieved when I rode the 2013 model and found that they hadn't changed that."
Another feature found on the F800GS that Guillien feels is essential for off-road riding and adventure touring is the 21" front wheel. "For me it's a lot more fun to ride off-road," Guillien said, "because you can go a little faster, you can go on more interesting off-road terrain, you can actually ride on Jeep trails and things with water crossings and washouts and you can just really have a lot more fun on a bike with a bigger front wheel and taller suspension."
When asked what his overall impression of the updated F800GS, Guillien replied; "I really like the 2013 bike, it retained all of the things I liked about the older model, but they improved the suspension which was my biggest complaint, so I think that BMW did a good job addressing its weaknesses; they've fixed it, they've made it a better motorcycle and it continues to be my favorite bike."
Click HERE for a look at all of the Touratech accessories available for the F800GS.


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After all the silly controversy hanging over EA's Medal of Honor, what we get on its release is a game that is incredibly respectful to the men and women fighting overseas--sorry, conspiracy theorists--but lacking, a bit, in playability. That is, it's a nice homage to the US armed services. But it's only a good, not great, game.
That said, Medal of Honor does satisfy one very important need: It's a lot more accessible to average gamers than the Call of Duty (COD): Modern Warfare games, especially the latest one, which has gotten horribly complex. This is especially true of multiplayer. If you've worked your way through the last three COD games, Modern Warfare, World at War, and Modern Warfare 2 (MW2), you've probably been able to deal with the creeping complexity. But I pity anyone trying to jump into console shooters by trying one of these games.
MOH, by contrast, is much easier. The single player campaign, even on the hardest difficulty level, is a straightforward, rail-like shooter, and not one of those open environment-type games. You progress logically from checkpoint to checkpoint, and while some of them are too widely spaced--way too widely spaced in a few annoying cases--for the most part the whole thing is very straightforward.
The single player campaign both benefits and suffers from its adherence to real world events. It is a beautiful, beautiful game, with the best graphics I've yet seen in any Xbox 360 title. But the story is, well, boring for lack of a better word, and you don't really feel any connection to the in-game characters, with one major exception described below.
For longtime shooter fans, there are some nice throwbacks to the classic World War II Medal of Honor and Call of Duty titles: You get to take down mortar and AAA teams, and attach explosives to cannons. It's all oddly familiar despite the unfamiliarity of the locations and events in Afghanistan.
But MOH is also a throwback in a bad way: The enemy AI is almost completely non-existent and very reminiscent of decade-old game titles. On the other hand, this is an easy game to beat, even on the hardest skill level, and it hands out Achievements like a Pez dispenser.
There's no character development per se, but who cares. It's a shooter, and the presentation is fantastic. But it's still quite moving when a compatriot appears to buy it near the end of the game. The developers at least did a good job of causing you to root for the good guys, which is especially poignant given the overall futility of what they're doing there, far from home.
Put simply, the MOH single player is much more accessible than that of the Modern Warfare games and is based on actual events, albeit with some pretty pointless objectives. If you're looking to get into Call of Duty, this is a great place to start. Otherwise, MOH is just a way to kill time until COD: Black Ops ships next month.
This is even more true of the multiplayer experience, which falls well short of that of the past three COD games. The presentation, again, is gorgeous, and this is absolutely the nicest looking multiplayer shooter I've ever seen. (And to be accurate, MOH single player and multiplayer are in fact completely different games, with different look and feels, and designed by different teams.) The problem with multiplayer is hard to categorize, but it boils down to the same issue I have with the Battlefield games. It just "feels" off. Something's not right in the control scheme and in the way in which your player moves (all too quickly, for whatever that's worth) onscreen.
All the basics are available in multiplayer, however, including multiple game modes and at least one key feature COD games lack: Actual multiplayer Achievements. Bravo to EA for that.
Still, multiplayer won't keep me captivated for long, and I'm pretty sure I'll be heading back to the comfortable confines of MW2 before long (and until Black Ops hits).
And really, that's the problem with MOH: There's just not a heck of a lot of replay value here. I played thorough the campaign once on the hardest skill level, and sopped up literally every possible Achievement, and now I'll never bother with that again. Meanwhile, the multiplayer, while decent, just isn't as high quality and durable as MW2. So it's a nice way to pass some time, but only for now. There's a new Call of Duty came coming down the pike, and something tells me that's going to be a much better experience.


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"From now until whenever my career ends, I want people to say, 'that guy is tough and that guy can scrap.'"- Roland Delorme
He only had 10 seconds left, so he finished the fight in 9.
In the same amount of time it takes Usain Bolt to run 100 meters, Roland Delorme secured a fight ending rear naked choke on fellow Canadian countryman Nick Denis at UFC on FOX 3. It was only the first round, but it was a wild opening five minutes where both bantamweights rocked each other with clean punches to the face and a finish for either man appeared imminent. But the ever opportunistic stoppage machine Delorme only needed the briefest of openings to seize the submission and force the tap with one tick of the clock remaining, which increased his record to 2-0 inside the Octagon.
"Once I grabbed his neck, I heard the ten seconds bell go and I just knew that if I'm going to finish the fight it had to happen now," remembers Delorme. "Once I had him hurt with a minute left in the round, I knew that I had to get on this guy now because if he gets a minute break between rounds he could come back as a completely different fighter. I thought I had to do this now. Once I sunk that choke, I just squeezed. I usually don't squeeze chokes and I tell people don't squeeze chokes because you'll burn your arms out trying to finish something that's not there. But I felt it go under his chin and I knew I was across his throat and I knew that there was only 10 seconds left, so I was like I'm going to squeeze as hard as I can until the bell goes. You can go out or the round is going to end."
The 28-year old from Winnipeg needed just shy of a full round to beat the previously top-ranked 135-pounder of "The Great White North" who he had been trying to fight for the better part of two years. Heading into the May bout, he gladly accepted the role as the underdog, knowing Denis had knockout-friendly hands and more experience, and plus, Delorme was taking the fight on short notice by filling in for an injured Johnny Bedford. But Delorme's confidence in his submission game is paramount, earning him six of his eight victories as a professional with the other two wins by KO/TKO. Plus, he isn't nervous about eating a knuckle sandwich or two in search of feasting on another tasty sub.
"Nick's a solid dude," tells Delorme. "He's been around the world. He's fought a lot of really great guys and he's beaten a lot of really great guys. I knew it wasn't going to be an easy fight, but I knew it was winnable. I knew that the first round was going to be tough. I was probably going to take a bunch of punches in the first round and I knew that if I was still standing I could win that fight. That's kind of the way it went down and I couldn't be happier. The whole fight in general I liked. I don't mind getting punched in the face, I like it. I enjoy it. It doesn't bother me. When I'm taking a beating, it's not a big deal. The one thing about submissions is I knew that all it would take is if I got one opening, one mistake, and I got his neck and it's over."
The Ultimate Fighter season 14 alum is gearing up for his third Octagon outing, this time in his native Canada on July 21st at UFC 149 in Calgary against brawler Francisco Rivera. To follow-up winning back-to-back UFC contests via rear naked choke, Delorme was briefly connected to meet Bibiano Fernandes in what would have been the Brazilian's UFC debut after tearing up the Japanese MMA scene. After a small amount of melodrama, Delorme is now fixed to fight the bantamweight bombardier Rivera, who has five of his eight wins by KO/TKO. Although Rivera's name doesn't carry as much proverbial weight as Fernandes' does, Delorme knows their fists do and that they can carry with them the same type of knockout power he needs to stay away from inside the cage.
"I didn't know who Bibiano Fernandes was," admits Delorme. "I didn't watch DREAM. They gave me a name and I said yes. I didn't care who that guy was. He's a good BJJ guy, throws really, really hard - great, fantastic. He didn't get hurt. He just decided he didn't want to fight anymore - that's how that fight ended. He didn't want to fight me; I wanted to fight him, whatever. Now, I have Francisco Rivera and he's happy to fight me and that's fantastic. I want to fight guys who want to fight me. Francisco is just as dangerous. He could knock me out just as much as Bibiano could. Everyone's got a button on the chin. You hit me hard enough on the chin and I go out. I know that. It's not that one guy is more dangerous than the other; they're all dangerous in different ways. I'm not going to overlook Francisco because he's not Bibiano or he doesn't have the same record or hasn't fought the same guys. Everybody gets to the UFC by beating people and being good. There's no easy fight in the UFC."
The matchup with the 8-2 Rivera is remarkably similar on paper to the one with Denis, as they're both home run punchers and Delorme's chin is made of skin and bones like everyone else's. "If he hammers me with his right hand, I'll probably go unconscious and that's fine because if it's not dangerous it's not fun," states Delorme, who enters the Octagon not looking for a grapplethon, but a fist fight, because this is MMA and not simply BJJ. "It comes down to keeping my chin tucked and my hands up and going out there and having fun. If we're exchanging punches and I see that I can take him down then I will and if I don't see it then I won't. When I fight, it's all action and reaction to me."
Delorme isn't looking to give Rivera an inch standing if he can help it, but, make no mistake, if the fight hits the floor, that's the Canadian's world. The product of the Winnipeg Academy of Mixed Martial Arts has been training there since he was 21, but he began his journey into one-on-one combat competition at the age of eight in Judo. Delorme's dogged determination with his grappling in the cage is what earned him a 6-1 record in Canada, a spot in the TUF house, and his first two wins in the UFC. It's a success story that he has worked most of his life towards, but simply didn't expect; now that it's here, he is prepared to squeeze it for all its worth.
"When I was younger and saw my first UFC, I knew exactly that I wanted to fight," affirms Delorme. "Everybody always aspires to be the best at what they're at. I aspired too, but never thought I would make it. I thought it would be nice, but never thought it would happen. I thought I would have 10 pro fights, go 50/50, and call it a career. Now that I'm here, it's a dream come true and it's crazy. Fighting in Calgary, I just love the opportunity of fighting in front of a huge crowd in my home country. I'm just so happy and grateful and really looking forward to the opportunity. At least I'll be able to check that off my bucket list. Next it would be cool to fight in Winnipeg! I'll take Calgary, that's fine, and I'll be happy with that. It's nice to go out there and showcase my skills in front of the Canadian fans that have watched me fight before I was even in the UFC. There are a few more Canadian cards this year and if I'm lucky enough and I don't get hurt and I have a good fight, hopefully I can get on one of those cards too. I'm living my dream, fighting people for money, getting paid well, getting flown around, fighting in front of huge crowds, and I'm going to ride this for as long as I can and see what happens."
This Saturday in the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Delorme and Rivera will collide with all the trappings of a bantamweight war. "Fans should make sure to specifically watch me and Rivera because any fight I'm in, I make it a [expletive]-ing fight," asserts Delorme, whose fearless, finishing, fighting style will be on full display for the partisan Canadian crowd. "Every time I win, I do it in insane fashion. I dedicated my life to martial arts at a young age and I would like people to see that when I fight. From now until whenever my career ends, I want people to say, 'that guy is tough and that guy can scrap.'"
It might sound cliche, but fight fans shouldn't blink during this fight because when Delorme is in the cage he's proving he makes every second count.
UFC Performance Institute
Dana White On The Opening Of UFC PI Mexico


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WASHINGTON – The Justice Department's internal ethics watchdog said Thursday that two prosecutors in the bungled corruption case against then-Sen. Ted Stevens engaged in reckless professional misconduct by failing to disclose information favorable to the lawmaker, who eight days after his 2008 conviction lost re-election to the seat he held for 40 years.
The Office of Professional Responsibility, however, did not find that the misconduct was intentional.
A career Justice Department official decided one prosecutor should be suspended for 40 days without pay and the second prosecutor should be suspended for 15 days without pay. They can appeal to the independent Merit Systems Protection Board.
The office found no professional misconduct by other prosecutors in the Stevens case.
A jury convicted Stevens on Oct. 27, 2008, of seven felony counts of lying on Senate financial disclosure documents to hide hundreds of thousands of dollars in home renovations and gifts from wealthy friends. Stevens, the longest-serving Republican in the Senate at the time, was defeated eight days later by Democrat Mark Begich.
The judge in the case dismissed Stevens' conviction in April 2009 after the Justice Department admitted misconduct. Stevens died in a plane crash on Aug. 9, 2010.
In March, a court-appointed special prosecutor, Henry Schuelke, declined to recommend criminal contempt charges over government misconduct in the case. But, unlike the Justice professional responsibility office, Schuelke did conclude that the two prosecutors, assistant U.S. attorneys Joseph Bottini and James Goeke, had intentionally withheld key information from the defense.
Justice's professional responsibility office found that their supervisor, Brenda Morris, exercised poor judgment by failing to supervise the review of material for possible turnover to the defense, but no other discipline was imposed on her.
The government's star witness in the Stevens prosecution, Bill Allen, testified that he oversaw extensive renovations at Stevens' home and sent his employees to work on it. Allen is the millionaire founder of VECO Corp., an Alaska company that provided support for oil producers. Stevens' defense was that the senator and his wife understood that VECO's costs for its employees' work on the renovation were included in the bills the senator received.
The OPR said in a report that Bottini failed to provide Stevens' lawyers with information from Allen that was inconsistent with Allen's later interviews and trial testimony.
In addition, the report also said Bottini failed to disclose information in an FBI interview summary and an Internal Revenue Service interview memo regarding Stevens' willingness to pay bills that VECO might have provided. Bottini also was found to have failed to disclose information from a construction supervisor who said he thought that VECO's costs would be added to the invoices sent to Stevens for payment.
The report found that Goeke failed to disclose the information about the construction supervisor.
Bottini is a federal prosecutor in Alaska, and Goeke is a prosecutor in the Eastern District of Washington state.
The OPR report "is further evidence" that Schuelke's report issued in March "was flat wrong when he accused Joe of intentionally violating the rules," said Bottini's lawyer, Kenneth Wainstein.
In a letter to the Justice Department, Goeke's lawyers rejected the OPR report's finding of misconduct. Goeke reasonably believed that the construction supervisor's prior statements to the grand jury would be disclosed to the defense, said the letter.
Schuelke's report to the judge described a prosecution team that was badly mismanaged and under enormous pressure. Stevens, in his effort to save his Senate seat, demanded a speedy trial so that the outcome would be known before Election Day in 2008.
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said he plans to hold a hearing June 6 to learn "what steps the department is taking to ensure sure that what happened in the Stevens case does not happen again, regardless of the prominence of the defendant."
Since the Stevens debacle ended in April 2009, the Justice Department has devoted substantial time and attention to training prosecutors and federal agents about their obligations to turn over evidence favorable to a defendant, a process known as "discovery."
Regardless of experience, 6,000 federal criminal prosecutors go through two hours of discovery training each year. Last year, the Justice Department provided discovery training to more than 26,000 federal law enforcement agents and other officials, mainly from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Justice Department says a legislative remedy is unnecessary.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has introduced the Fairness in Disclosure of Evidence Act, which would require early release of evidence favorable to the defense. The legislation requires disclosure of such evidence without delay after arraignment. Evidence favorable to the defense that is uncovered later in the case must be turned over as soon as reasonably possible.
Murkowski's legislation also would require prosecutors to disclose material that reasonably appears to be favorable to the defendant. That addresses the practice by prosecutors of disclosing favorable evidence only if it is deemed material to the guilt or innocence of a defendant.


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Party Pages: the Picasso Gala played host to Kim Cattrall, an Eaton, some Jackmans and a Weston
The AGO celebrated its upcoming Picasso exhibit, featuring more than 150 pieces from the Musée National Picasso in Paris, with a $1,500-a-ticket gala ball (truly the best way to toast anything) in Baillie Court last Thursday. The reception area in Walker Court was decked out like an extravagant French salon, with purple hydrangeas and gaslight posts leading the way to bright yellow and green couches and a striking blue floor (presumably inspired by Picasso, but it was also a handy way to avoid any red wine stains on the tile). Guests like society types Cleophee Eaton, Trinity and Victoria Jackman, Ivan Fecan, Ben and Jessica Mulroney and Loretta Rogers, Holt Renfrew head honcho Mark Derbyshire, director Norman Jewison (and wife Lynne St. David) and Gluskin Sheff and Associates' co-founder Ira Gluskin mingled amidst posing nude models and a three-piece jazz band. The biggest celeb of the night was Kim Cattrall (who recently starred in the Toronto stage production Private Lives), and since she was the biggest star, people wanted to take her picture—a lot (seriously, kudos to you Cattrall for maintaining that smile all night). The photographer joked with Cattrall "smile, it's in your contract" as she posed with countless guests. Not one to refuse food, we spotted Cattrall digging into the salt cod cakes and shrimp skewers and even partaking in the lemonade cocktails on hand (some people feign being dainty at these things and presumably go home and shame eat a bag of potato chips, but not her). Sadly though, we didn't hear even one Samantha-esque utterance about the nudity in the room—would one "there's more naked people here than at my last book club meeting" have been so difficult?


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Any suggestions on where to get cheap (Not necessarily low quality) computer parts? URLs, name brand stores, general type stores, etc. would all be very useful. Thank you.
Preliminary operational tests were inconclusive (the dang thing blew up) \"Ask not what the kernel can do for you, ask what you can do for the kernel!\"
Smile ... tomorrow will be worse
You can get real cheap memory at www.crucial.com
--> I don't know about GOOD cheap used parts, but if you are willing to gamble for the GOOD parts, you can get very very CHEAP used parts at your local computer store that has "final cycle" sales, often held on weekends. --> Get there early, and geek out.
Obey All Orders Without Question...The comfort you\'ve demanded is now mandatory. --Jello Biafra
Best parts are found at yard slaes. hit them early. youll be surprised at what is sold! Whole computer sysems for dirt cheap! Monitors and such. Last week i got a 17" viewsonic for $10
Well i know in CANADA get them from ... www.buysell.com give this one a try too http://www.cheap-computer-sales.com/
Find almost everything with prices already compared: www.pricewatch.com
Another site that is wonderful for cheap computer (as well as other stuff) is http://www.bensbargains.net If you have something in mind that you want to get, but don't need it right away, this place is great - just keep watching it every once and a while and usually a deal will come around...very nice.
\"If you torture the data enough, it will confess.\" --Ronald Coase
Forum Rules


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Mayfields, as it appears today. Image via Elle Décor. |
Mrs. Parish, with Albert Hadley, was my former employer, and Mayfields was often used as a reference for country house projects when I worked there as an architect in the 1980s, what we who worked there during that period call the Golden Age of Parish-Hadley. Whether it was white-washing the fieldstone facing, providing the opportunity for three seating areas in the living room, or including a designated space for a visiting chauffeur to have lunch, the precedents at Mayfields were often recalled as a standard for comfortable country house living.
Mrs. Parish was quoted to say, "The most monumentous event of my life occurred in 1920, when I was 10 [sic]. It was the day we moved from Morristown to Mayfields, our new and wondrous stone house set on miles and miles of rolling country in Far Hills, New Jersey." The architects were the New York City firm Cross & Cross with the landscape designed by Ellen Biddle Shipman and Marian Cruger Coffin.
"Mayfields was to be my parents' last and most important home, the ideal house for Daddy to express his love and knowledge of good furniture, for Mother to show her superb taste, for them to fulfill their fondest dreams of the most beautiful gardens, most fulfilling house, and the ideal setting for themselves and their children."
Mayfields, along with more country houses, city residences, and other buildings by Cross & Cross are featured in a new book NEW YORK TRANSFORMED: THE ARCHITECTURE OF CROSS & CROSS by Peter Pennoyer and Anne Walker. Published by The Monacelli Press with a release date of March 18, 2014, it may be purchased at a discount rate here. An earlier view of the house, when the stone was white washed, is shown, along with floor plans, and recent photos. Those interested in the history of 20th century design will especially appreciate this monograph of an important architectural firm, not particularly known outside the greater New York City area.


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We understand you |
Besides understanding the technical aspects of software projects, we also understand business. Let us suggest ways to minimize your project costs while maximizing your needs. | |
Connect yourself with responsible, hard working, highly skilled, knowledgeable professionals. Professionals that like to keep their skills updated with the current rate of change. Professionals who are flexible and ready to meet the needs of their client. Professionals that insist on quality, honesty and integrity. | |
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Warriors: Omen of the Stars #4: Sign of the Moon (Hardcover)
This item is not currently available to order.
The end of the stars draws near.
Three must become four to battle
the darkness that lasts forever. . . .
The dark forces that have driven a rift between the four warrior Clans are growing stronger. Jayfeather, Lionblaze, and Dovepaw now know that unless they can unravel the true meaning behind the prophecy that binds them, the warrior code could be destroyed forever.
While Lionblaze remains focused on protecting ThunderClan from another deadly battle, Jayfeather receives a desperate plea for help from the Tribe of Rushing Water. He must travel to the mountains in search of answers that link the Clans to the Tribe in ways no cat could have imagined. But with the summons comes an ominous warning that suggests the power of the stars may not be enough to save the Clans.
About the Author
Erin Hunter is inspired by a love of cats and a fascination with the ferocity of the natural world. In addition to having great respect for nature in all its forms, Erin enjoys creating rich mythical explanations for animal behavior. She is the author of the Warriors, Seekers, Survivors, Bravelands, and Bamboo Kingdom series. Erin lives in the UK.


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Meet Jesse Heiman, the Go Daddy Nerd Who Got to Kiss Bar Refaeli
If the guy swapping spit with Bar Refaeli in that GoDaddy Super Bowl commercial looked familiar, it's because you've seen him before. Dozens of times. His name is Jesse Heiman, and he plays a nerd in basically everything.
This helpful video demonstrates a smattering of his work as a background actor in TV and film. Casting him in their commercial was a bit of brilliance on the part of GoDaddy, as he's already got something of an internet following. He's done an "Ask Me Anything" chat on Reddit, and this video of his reel has received over three million views.
Now some are calling him the most envied man in America, as it reportedly took 45 takes to film this commercial, which was originally deemed too graphic for television. Here's the original uncut version:
And now you know why he looks so familiar.


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Original Back Door Panel Back Body Panel Back Cover housing Body Compatible for Samsung Galaxy A21s : Black (with Logo)
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Our community of childminders in Oldfield offer brilliant learning resources, creativity and the freedom to play and explore
Our community of childminders in Oldfield offer brilliant learning resources, creativity and the freedom to play and explore
The foundations for future learning and future wellbeing are laid in early childhood. Here's how tiney has been designed to have a profound impact on children who join a tiney home.
tiney childminders encourage and nurture the remarkable capacities young children have for learning, imagination, fun, generosity, boldness and directness. We believe education should develop the whole child equipping them with the skills that will help them thrive later in life - qualities like resilience, critical thinking and collaboration.
At tiney, we take play seriously. It is the motor of young children's learning and the way that they explore and make sense of the world. tiney childminders foster a love of learning by providing an exciting, play-based curriculum, tailored to each child's needs.
Children receive far more adult attention in a tiney home than they would in a larger setting. This has a big impact on children's confidence and language development. tiney home nurseries combine the benefits of small and large settings; offering a nurturing, homely environment, coupled with a large community of other tiney homes for group meet ups, larger education occasions and local events.
Want a flavour of what you can expect when you sign up with one of our tiney childminders? Watch our mission video and have a look through our family pack to learn what's so special about tiney, and how our tiney home nurseries are different from other childcare settings.


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NEW YORK -- With so much wheeling and dealing, maybe the NFL draft should move to Wall Street.
Minutes before Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III went 1-2 to the Colts and Redskins on Thursday night, the draft at Radio City Music Hall turned into a deal-a-thon.
Through the first seven picks, only Indianapolis kept its original draft spot, and a total of eight trades were made in the first round.
The Browns, Jaguars, Cowboys and Eagles all traded up to get players they coveted. The Vikings dropped a spot and still came away with the guy they wanted.
Credit the rookie wage scale for so much buying and selling so early, with general managers making last-minute moves knowing that extravagant salaries for top picks have been replaced by a compensation plan.
Before NFL commissioner Roger Goodell opened the draft, Minnesota swapped its No. 3 choice for Cleveland's No. 4 pick, with the Vikings also getting fourth, fifth and seventh rounders.
After the Browns went for Alabama running back Trent Richardson, and before the Vikings took tackle Matt Kalil, Florida neighbors Tampa Bay and Jacksonville swung a deal.
Cleveland coach Pat Shurmur said the Browns were convinced a team would leapfrog them to take Richardson, so they pulled the trigger on the 4-for-1 trade.
"Unfortunately, we had to make a little trade to secure the pick," Shurmur said. "We knew as we went through the process that he was our guy and so we did what we had to do to secure it. We had pretty good knowledge that there were teams behind that wanted him as well, so we gave up a couple of picks to make sure we got him. We're thrilled a bunch about Trent."
The Jaguars moved up to No. 5 from No. 7 and grabbed wide receiver Justin Blackmon.
The Buccaneers, at No. 7, chose Alabama safety Mark Barron, and also acquired the Jaguars' fourth-round choice.
"It just goes to show you that anything can happen," Blackmon said, referring to the Jaguars going after him.
The St. Louis Rams made a second trade of their first-round pick.
The Rams traded away the No. 2 overall pick to the Washington Redskins last month, and were set to select sixth.
But Dallas traded its No. 14 choice and a second-rounder to the Rams and grabbed LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne with No. 6.
"I didn't see it coming in a million years. I had no idea," Claiborne said. "We didn't talk none, none at all. That's why it was shocking to me when I got the phone call."
The Cowboys came into the draft desperate for defensive playmakers, and Claiborne is considered by most as the best cornerback available.
Claiborne led LSU with six interceptions last season, won the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back, and averaged 25 yards per kickoff return.
Tampa Bay general manager Mark Dominik said he wanted Barron all along at No. 5, but felt he could deal down and still get the All-American who was a vital cog in the nation's best defense last season.
"I was a little nervous, though, when the Cowboys moved up to No. 6," he said.
Deals weren't done yet. Philadelphia, looking to strengthen its defensive line, moved up three spots to No. 12 by making a trade with Seattle and selecting Mississippi State defensive tackle Fletcher Cox.
"We thought he would be a top-six or seven pick," coach Andy Reid said. "When he started to fall, we got excited about that. We had a price on how much we were willing to spend. Things were crazy. It worked out."
Even the New England Patriots got in on the action with two first-round deals.
The Patriots traded their No. 27 pick and third-rounder for the Bengals' No. 21 spot and took Syracuse defensive end Chandler Jones.
They then dealt the No. 31 choice and a fourth-rounder to Denver and went for Alabama linebacker Dont'a Hightower.
The Vikings added another first-round choice when they acquired the No. 29 overall selection from Baltimore.
The Ravens received the Vikings' second- and fourth-round picks. Minnesota used its pick to grab Notre Dame safety Harrison Smith.
"A couple of teams called us, and we had several players that we liked that are still available for us" Friday, Ravens general manager Ozzie Newsome said. "To be able to pick up that 98th pick from Minnesota, we think is going to be another good player. Or we can take that pick and use it to move into the second or third (round) to go get another player."
In addition to Minnesota trading back into the first round, so did Tampa Bay. The Bucs made a deal for Denver's 31st pick -- acquired earlier in the night from New England -- and selected Boise State running back Doug Martin.
Information from The Associated Press contributed to this report.


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Helicobacter pylori, a Gram-negative, flagellated, microaerophilic bacterium, can selectively colonize in the human stomach. Its infection is widespread throughout the world, and is present in about 50% of the global human population with 80% in developing countries and 20-50% in industrialized countries. Infection of the stomach with H. pylori induces a local immune response with infiltration of the mucosa by macrophages, neutrophils and lymphocytes.
Although the innate and adaptive immune responses are activated, the bacterium is rarely eliminated and infections can last for decades if left untreated. Most infections are asymptomatic, but overt diseases can occur in 10-20 % of infected individuals.
The disease spectrum ranges from gastritis to peptic ulceration disease. A long-term chronic infection will increase the risk to gastric adenocarcinoma and mucosa-associated lymphoid-tissue lymphoma. It has been classified as a class I carcinogen by the WHO. Despite intensive studies, and the award of the 2005 Nobel Prize in Physiology for the discovery of the bacterium H. pylori by Robin Warren and Barry Marshall, our understanding of H. pylori-infection-caused disease is still limited. H. pylori has evolved several mechanisms to increase its adherence and persistence in the host. In addition, it must also evade immune clearance.
Elimination of H. pylori by phagocytes is inefficient because H. pylori exhibits several virulence factors to evade opsonization, retard phagocytosis, and disrupt membrane trafficking and phagosome maturation after internalization of the microorganism.
In the February 2009 issue of Experimental Biology and Medicine researchers at the National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan, have reported a novel phenomenon involving autophagosome formation induced by H. pylori infection and subsequent adoption of these autophagic vesicles by H. pylori for replication in macrophages. The fate of H. pylori is dependent on the strains (isolates) as well as the host macrophages used. Several clinical isolates of H. pylori from Taiwanese patients, but not standard strains, can multiply in the double-layered vesicles of macrophages.
The senior author, Dr. Huan-Yao Lei stated that "The autophagy induction by H. pylori is not only found in macrophages, but also in dendritic cells and gastric epithelial cells". This new finding has several implications for the life cycle of H. pylori in the host. H. pylori can be considered as a kind of intracellular microorganism because it can invade host cells to undergo replication within the autophagosome. The bacterium's residence inside infected cells not only increases its resistance to antibiotic treatment, but also avoids neutralization by anti-H. pylori antibodies. In view of the critical role of dendritic cells in presenting H. pylori antigen to initiate the immune response, it is possible that H. pylori-infected dendritic cells induce an inadequate immune response to H. pylori infection that might hinder the clearance of this bacterium.
Alternatively, the various immunopathogenesis during the H. pylori-caused diseases might be caused by an unbalanced Th-1 or Th2-mediated response post infection. Finally, the micro-heterogeneity of Taiwanese H. pylori isolates used in this study provides an important hint as to why this microorganism causes so broad a spectrum of diseases.
Dr. Steven R. Goodman, Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Biology and Medicine stated "This study also has potential implications for new anti-H. pylori drugs that target the enhancement of autophagy. Dr. Lei and his co-workers have provided an important contribution to our understanding of H. pylori infection."
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Welcome to Elust 90–
The only place where the smartest and hottest sex bloggers are featured under one roof every month. Whether you're looking for sex journalism, erotic writing, relationship advice or kinky discussions it'll be here at Elust. Want to be included in Elust #91 Start with the rules, come back February 1st to submit something and subscribe to the RSS feed for updates!
~ This Month's Top Three Posts ~
~ Featured Post (Molly's Picks) ~
How to suck my cock – part 1 (attitude)
~Readers Choice from Sexbytes ~
*You really should consider adding your popular posts here too*
All blogs that have a submission in this edition must re-post this digest from tip-to-toe on their blogs within 7 days. Re-posting the photo is optional and the use of the "read more…" tag is allowable after this point. Thank you, and enjoy!
Writing About Writing
The Curious Case of Trigger Warnings
Writing About It All
Thoughts & Advice on Kink & Fetish
Reader Q&A: Dominant women struggle, turn-ons
Chastity Questions
Not every hole is a goal
Erotic Non-Fiction
A Picture is Worth…
Morning Stretch
Lovemaking Almost Too Brilliant To Describe
The GP
I Want
Indescribable Pleasure
Humiliating an ex-Nazi: Raylene's 2nd dozen
I love big, fat dicks
Erotic Fiction
Dude, You're Wet!
When Love Becomes a Weakness
On a Silver Platter
The Silent Treatment
A Seasonal Affair
Three in a Stall
Schoolgirl Uniform
The New Principal 4: Escape
Thoughts & Advice on Sex & Relationships
Anal Retentive Or Just OCD?
Sex News, Opinion, Interviews, Politics & Humor
Mistletoe: A Lusty Limerick


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FlashBack: Beware of the feds' flu shots, says Michael Savage
January 16, 2013
Don't get a flu shot, warns conservative talk show host Michael Savage, because you just can't trust the government.
"Did Harry Reid get a flu shot?" the Larkspur, Calif., resident asked in a recent broadcast. "Did Barack Obama take a flu shot? Did Barack Obama's lovely family take a flu shot? Did Joe Biden take a flu shot?
"Which of the mandarins took a flu shot?"
So far, there's been no response from the mandarins. Very suspicious. If the CDC is going to urge Americans to get vaccinated, the White House could at least say whether Sasha and Malia got their shots.
The flu vaccine contains formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, Savage says. Totally true. Getting a flu shot might not be the same as eating FEMA trailer insulation, but you are having formaldehyde injected into your body.
Same with thimerosal, a mercury-laced organic compound used as a preservative in some flu shots. Thimerosal has been linked by some to autism.
Now the pro-flu shot lobby will tell you that the negligible quantities of formaldehyde and thimerosal in the vaccine are harmless, even for young children.
It will remind you that side effects are very rare, that you can't get the flu from getting vaccinated and that the new "combined" shots, which protect against both H1N1 and seasonal flu, are made the same way as the old flu shots.
But, says Dr. Savage (Did you know he's a doctor? Not a medical doctor, but still), suppose you do get a shot and years pass "and you get ALS or Alzheimer's disease or MS, or you watch your kid develop seizures, or your kid becomes autistic, God forbid, what are you going to say?"
You'll say, "I shouldn't have gotten that flu shot back in 2013," that's what! Unless you get Alzheimer's.
So listen to Dr. Savage and refuse to submit to the pro-flu shot lobby's disease-eradicating agenda. After all, when was the last time any government-recommended vaccine containing formaldehyde did any good?
Well, except for measles, mumps, rubella, chickenpox and polio.
Did I mention you shouldn't drink fluoridated water?


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"Braddock, you've used too much power - you can't beam out!" Basic Wonders of Life (1989-2004) was the last pavilion to receive a symbol and open without replacing an older pavilion. It revolved around the concepts of life, health, and the human body. Opening on October 19, 1989, it housed many attractions, a shop, and a restaurant. After closing in 2004, Wonders of Life would continue to operate seasonally for awhile, until it became the new showcase building for Epcot's festivals. Metropolitan Life Insurance Co. (MetLife) was its sponsor from 1989-2000. Exterior & Inside Area The Wonders of Life pavilion is a gold-colored dome back amidst many trees between Universe of Energy and Horizons (now Mission: SPACE). The dome opens up into two back building unseen by guests. The pathway to the pavilion first passes two overflowing fountains. It then curves up around a shallow pool where a giant 72-foot DNA strand towers over guests trekking up to the entrance. The pavilion orignally had an arched entrance sign with "Metropolitan Life" spelled out underneath the words "Wonders of Life." The arch sign was taken down and a newer vertical sign was put in its place with "Metropolitan Life" being shortened to "MetLife." The inside of the pavilion had a lot of walking area to get to and from the various attractions, with windows in the ceiling that let light in. The area had many indoor trees and bushes bordering the attractions, shop, and restaurant. During MetLife's time as sponsor, a MetLife remote-controlled Snoopy blimp would float around the pavilion. Body Wars Body Wars was Epcot's first height required thrill ride at 40 inches. It was a motion simulator very similar to Star Tours. The queue for Body Wars began underneath a giant mural showing the inside of a body. You then traveled through a series of Dermatopic Purification Stations, discovering that you are in some kind of research facility. Along the way you can watch overhead monitors to learn about the company running the facility, called MET (Miniaturized Exploration Technologies). MET has created a ship called an LGS-250 Body Probe Vehicle that can be miniaturized and beamed into the body. Calls being made and subtle machine noises were heard, making it seem like you were in a busy research facility. After going through the queue, you would see a preshow with your control officer. The control officer explained that Dr. Cynthia Lair was just beamed into the body of a volunteer ten minutes ago to study the immune system's response to a splinter. Your objective was to board body probe ship Bravo 229 and retrieve Dr. Lair. Your pilot was Captain Braddock. After the preshow, safety information was given as you boarded the simulator. After boarding, your body probe was zapped with the miniaturizer and beamed into the body just under the skin. You find Dr. Lair with the splinter and white blood cells. Before you can get Dr. Lair aboard, she gets sucked into a capillary. Your ship flies into the vein, following her into the heart. You then follow her getting sucked into the lungs. The control officer makes constant reminders to Braddock that the ship is running low on power. Dr. Lair gets attacked by a white blood cell. Braddock stuns the cell with the ship's lasers and we finally get Dr. Lair aboard. The control officer tells Braddock that he's used up too much power to beam out of the body. To get an energy boost, you start racing towards the brain because it works on electrical impulse as Dr. Lair explains. To get there, you pass through the heart again. With only five percent power, you use a heart beat to propel out. Your ship makes it up to the cerebral artery, which takes you just above the brain in the spinal fluid. With only two percent power, your ship crosses the blood brain barrier and enters the cerebral cortex inside the brain. Braddock deploys the fuel cell shield to act as a lightning rod and grab power from neurons shooting impulses back and forth. It works, your ship gains power, and you beam out. Cranium Command Cranium Command was a show about Buzzy, an Audio-Animatronics Cranium Commando recruit. Guests were first shown an animated preshow with Buzzy and his commanding officer General Knowledge (voiced by Corey Burton). The General is giving a briefing about brains to the new recruits. He whips through many slides, including one of a brain success (Albert Einstein) and one of a brain failure (Ernest P. Worrell). Buzzy is late to the briefing. The General gives everyone else assignments to pilot brains, leaving just Buzzy left. The General tells Buzzy that "some genius at HQ has picked you to pilot the most unstable craft in the fleet" - the brain of a 12-year-old adolescent boy. After the preshow, guests were seated in the command center/brain's cortex, which was a tiered theater wrapping around the area with the Buzzy Animatronic. The theater was meant to look like the inside of a mechanical brain. Two round video screens showed a view through the 12-year-old's eyes. More video screens showed the different brain and body parts who talked to Buzzy. The parts were played by actors (many of which were from Saturday Night Live): Jon Lovitz as the right brain, Charles Grodin as the left brain, Dana Carvey as the heart's right ventricle, Kevin Nealson as the heart's left ventricle, George Wendt as the stomach, and Bobcat Goldthwait as the adrenal gland. Guests saw Buzzy trying to pilot the brain while talking to the body parts inside of the 12-year-old boy, Bobby. Buzzy tried his best to maneuver Bobby through the typical day of a 12-year-old, incuding running late in the morning, falling in love with the new girl, dealing with bullies, and facing the principal. Fitness Fairgrounds Fitness Fairgrounds was the main central area of Wonders of Life. Many of the attractions here were housed in tent-style theaters with seats that were tiered downwards to the stage or screen. The attractions were Goofy About Health, The Making of Me, AnaComical Players, the Wondercycles, Coach's Corner, Met Lifestyle Review, Frontiers in Medicine, and the Sensory Funhouse. Well & Goods, Limited (shop) and Pure & Simple (restaurant) were also within the Fitness Fairgrounds. Goofy About Health Goofy About Health was a small open theater near the front of the pavilion. The stage was a cartoon city backdrop with a series of video screens displaying clips of old Goofy shorts. The clips followed patterns of Goofy exercising or eating healthy. Guests could walk in and out of the theater whenever they wanted. |
The Making of Me
The Making of Me premiered on October 30, 1989, shortly after the rest of the pavilion opened. It was housed in Birth Theater.
Making of Me was a lighthearted 14-minute film about conception and childbirth, starring Martin Short. Due to the sensitive nature of the film, there was a warning at the entrance to advise parents.
The film begins with Short wondering how he was created by his parents. It then shows how his parents got together and them enjoying life as young adults (Short played his own dad). The film goes on to an animated segment showing cartoon eggs and sperm in a comical fashion.
The next part of the film shows actual fetal development. It goes on to show a live-action birth taking place, viewed from over the shoulder of the mother.
AnaComical Players
Housed in the open AnaComical Theatre, the AnaComical Players were actors and actresses who performed improvisational skits about health, exercise, and nutrition.
The Wondercylces were simulated bike machines. Guests would sit on the bike and pedal to "move" through the course on the monitor directly in front of them.
The faster you pedaled, the more rapidly you moved through the video course. The courses included a micro course (where you seemed shrunken down), a Disneyland course, and a course through the Rose Bowl Parade. The machines would display your speed and distance.
Coach's Corner
Coach's Corner was an area where you could go into a batting cage area and swing either a baseball bat, golf club, or tennis racquet. A video was then displayed for you. The video was of a professional athlete - either Gary Carter, Chris Evert, or Nancy Lopez - giving you taped advise on how to improve your form.
Met Lifestyle Review
This was a series of video consolses that allowed guests to fill out a survey based on their health habits, including whether they exercise, smoke, have a lot of stress, etc. They also fill out their age, weight, and height. It would then tell you what to do to improve your health.
Frontiers in Medicine
Located in the back between the restrooms and Body Wars, Frontiers in Medicine was an exhibit displaying research and achievements in medicine. The flat displays were kept up to date with current research.
Sensory Funhouse
The Sensory Funhouse was an area dedicated to the senses (mainly touch, sight, and sound). In itself it had many small attractions, including:


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Hello there! Thought I would stop in to say hello and let you know I am still kicking! Under alot of stress lately but I can get through it. After all it could be worse, so I thank my lucky stars for that!!
I haven't got any art work done in so long...I did start and art page awhile back but haven't had the energy or the inspiration to finish it...I hope it won't be too long before I am doing art again!
Also...while I have been gone from my blog....We had a big celebration here My grandson Gabriel is now ONE!!! Yay! It was a fun and very special day and he seemed to have a blast with it all! Grandma went a bit over board for him....but he will only be one ..once so if you have grandchildren I am sure you know how that goes! lol I tried to upload photos of his first year but my blog wasn't wanting to cooperate...didn't want to upload photos for some reason. I really think it is my computer AGAIN...so I have been organizing files and getting ready to do a full clean up on my computer...UGH! lol
I am also thankful that I was able to upload collage elements to my Flickr for Collage Play with Crowabout! I was surprised when it let me do that.
Now I am going to cross my fingers and my toes and hope that this posts! ;O)
Much love and hugs!


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- It features a vertical orientation, making it suitable for displaying on narrow wall spaces.
- The calendar covers the entire year of 2024, providing a comprehensive view of all twelve months.
- Each month is displayed on a separate page, allowing for easy reference and planning.
- The vertical wall calendar showcases beautiful artwork and designs for each month, adding visual appeal to any space.
- It includes public holidays and observances, helping users stay aware of important dates.
Item Number: 24991079146
Dimensions: 15.91 x 7.99 x 0.47 inches
Weight: 0.42 lb
LANG is a well-known brand that specializes in creating high-quality, art-inspired products for the home and beyond. With a rich history dating back to the 1980s, LANG has become synonymous with beautiful artwork, exceptional craftsmanship, and timeless design. Artistic Heritage: LANG was founded by Paul Hoffman in 1982 with the vision of bringing fine art into people's everyday lives. The brand began by licensing artwork from renowned artists and translating them into products like greeting cards and calendars. Premium Quality: From the beginning, LANG has been committed to delivering products of the highest quality. The brand uses premium materials and employs skilled artisans to create their wide range of products, including calendars, stationery, home decor, and more. Art-Inspired Designs: LANG's products are known for their captivating and vibrant artwork. The brand collaborates with talented artists from around the world to bring their original artwork to life on various products. Each design tells a story and captures the beauty of nature, landscapes, animals, and more. Attention to Detail: LANG pays meticulous attention to detail in every aspect of their products. From the selection of artwork to the printing process, packaging, and presentation, the brand ensures that every item meets their high standards of excellence. Timeless Appeal: LANG's products have a timeless appeal that transcends trends and fads. The brand's commitment to classic, enduring designs ensures that their products can be enjoyed and cherished for years to come. Diverse Product Range: Over the years, LANG has expanded its product range to include a wide variety of items beyond calendars and cards. They now offer puzzles, home decor, drinkware, kitchen accessories, and much more, all featuring their signature artistic designs. Customer Satisfaction: LANG is dedicated to providing exceptional customer service and satisfaction. They strive to exceed expectations by delivering products that bring joy, inspiration, and beauty to customers' lives. Today, LANG continues to be a trusted name in the industry, loved by art enthusiasts, collectors, and anyone who appreciates beautiful, well-crafted products. With their commitment to artistry, quality, and customer satisfaction, LANG remains a brand that brings art to life in unique and meaningful ways.
We don't accept return, but if the product you receive is broken or wrong, we will provide full or partial refund.


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Fronteers 2010 - A conference for front-end developers
30 August 2010
It's exactly 39 days until I'll be speaking in Amsterdam about the Renaissance of Browser Animation for Fronteers 2010, and I'm getting pretty excited about it. A large part of which is due to the fact that the venue looks absolutely incredible. Not only that, but the line-up looks incredible, Amsterdam looks incredible, and my beard's looking incredible.
My talk will be exploring the state of animation in browsers today; everything from HTML, to Canvas, SVG and Flash. It will touch on the performance, workflow, and accessibility of all these technologies and will hopefully give you an objective view of all your animation possibilities as you approach your next project.
If you're a front-end developer in Holland – or Europe – I highly suggest you spend a couple of days with Jeremy, Andy, Jina and all the others at Fronteers. I'm certain you'll come away inspired.
Krijn Hoetmer commented on 30 August 2010 @ 03:41
An incredible beard? POIDH! ;)
See you in October!
Ilari Sahamies commented on 1 September 2010 @ 14:15
I wish I could join you in Amsterdam, a very beautiful city and so much fun.
Joel commented on 2 September 2010 @ 17:47
Aw, man, I wish I was going!
gweb commented on 6 September 2010 @ 06:57
now with CSS 3 and Html 5 we go to see I lot of Amazing Work, Em Amsterdam Just 5000 mile away From me.
Mircea Piturca commented on 7 September 2010 @ 09:31
I am really interested in seeing you in Amsterdam. Great to see that you are talking on The Renaissance of Browser Animation as I am doing an HTML5 app on this. Hope that I can ask you few questions on this. See you!
Marco commented on 8 September 2010 @ 06:57
Are any places free? do you plan to show video from this event?
Krijn Hoetmer commented on 8 September 2010 @ 07:16
@Mircea: We've got two afterparties for that, both without music :)
@Marco: Yes, there are still some places left. And we're going to put all the session videos online after the conference (if speakers allow us to, of course), just like we did last year (even though they were a bit late and we didn't have all of them).
Lazar commented on 11 September 2010 @ 08:57
Amsterdam is a very beautiful place to visit, i'm sure you will enjoy it very much.
Inge commented on 17 September 2010 @ 22:06
It is good to hear we've some great front-end web development events in the Netherlands.
@Krijn Hoetmer, looking forward to see the video reports online
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'You Have Stolen My Dreams,' An Angry Thunberg Tells U.N. Climate Summit
Sep 24, 2019 | Pratirodh BureauTeenage activist Greta Thunberg angrily denounced world leaders on Monday for failing to tackle climate change, unleashing the outrage felt by millions of her peers in the heart of the United Nations by demanding: "How dare you?"
The Swedish campaigner's brief address electrified the start of a summit aimed at mobilising government and business to break international paralysis over carbon emissions, which hit record highs last year despite decades of warnings from scientists.
"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?" said Thunberg, 16, her voice quavering with emotion.
"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she said.
Inspired by Thunberg's solitary weekly protest outside the Swedish parliament a year ago, millions of young people poured onto the streets around the globe last Friday to demand governments attending the summit take emergency action.
"I was very struck by the emotion in the room when some of the young people spoke earlier," French President Emmanuel Macron told the U.N. Climate Action Summit. "I also want to play my role in listening to them. I think that no political decision maker can remain deaf to this call for justice between generations."
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organised the one-day event to boost the 2015 Paris Agreement to combat global warming, had warned leaders only to turn up if they came armed with concrete action plans, not empty speeches.
"Nature is angry. And we fool ourselves if we think we can fool nature, because nature always strikes back, and around the world nature is striking back with fury," said Guterres, a former Portuguese prime minister.
"There is a cost to everything. But the biggest cost is doing nothing. The biggest cost is subsidising a dying fossil fuel industry, building more and more coal plants, and denying what is plain as day: that we are in a deep climate hole, and to get out we must first stop digging," he said.
Nevertheless, there were few new proposals from governments for the kind of rapid change climate scientists say is now needed to avert devastating impacts from warming. The summit has, by contrast, been marked by a flurry of pledges from business, pension funds, insurers and banks to do more.
"We have broken the cycle of life," said Emmanuel Faber, chief executive of French food group Danone, who announced a "One Planet" initiative with a group of 19 major food companies to transition towards more sustainable farming.
"We need your support for shifting agricultural subsidies from killing life into supporting biodiversity," Faber said.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who questions climate science and has challenged every major U.S. regulation aimed at combating climate change, made a brief appearance in the audience of the summit along with Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. He did not speak but he listened to remarks by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who serves as a U.N. special envoy on climate action, called out Trump's low-key appearance before he spoke on Monday: "Hopefully our deliberations will be helpful to you as you formulate climate policy," he said to audience laughter.
Merkel announced Germany would double its contribution to a U.N. fund to support less developed countries to combat climate change to 4 billion euros from 2 billion euros.
Among the day's other initial announcements was one from the Marshall Islands, whose president Hilda Heine said she would seek parliamentary approval to declare a climate crisis on the low-lying atoll, already grappling with sea level rise.
Heine said her country and New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and others who form the "High Ambition" bloc at U.N. climate negotiations, will commit to achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.
With climate impacts such as extreme weather, thawing permafrost and sea-level rise unfolding much faster than expected, scientists say the urgency of the crisis has intensified since the Paris accord was agreed.
The agreement will enter a crucial implementation phase next year after another round of negotiations in Chile in December.
Existing pledges to curb emissions are nowhere near enough to avert catastrophic warming, say scientists, who warn that failing to change course could ultimately put the survival of industrial societies at risk.
Laurence Tubiana, a former French diplomat and an architect of the Paris accord, said she drew some comfort from more ambitious pledges by a nucleus of political and business leaders.
"When you look at the emergency and you see the level of the response, of course I cannot be happy," Tubiana told reporters. "The golden nugget I see is this group of countries, companies and cities."
Over the past year, Guterres has called for no new coal plants to be built after 2020, urged a phase-out of fossil fuel subsidies and asked countries to map out how to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
While some countries have made progress, some of the biggest emitting countries remain far behind, even as wildfires, heat waves and record temperatures have provided glimpses of the devastation that could lie in store in a warmer world.
In a measure of the gap between government action and the ever-louder alarms sounded by climate scientists, the United Nations Development Programme said that 14 nations representing a quarter of global emissions have signalled that they do not intend to revise current climate plans by 2020.
Pope Francis, in a message broadcast to the conference, called for honesty, responsibility and courage to face "one of the most serious and worrying phenomena of our time".


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Xbox: Taking On The Video Game World
Page 1 of 2
This is the Internet after all, where words like "sex" and "mp3" continue to rank high on the list of most searched terms. But every month or so, a new word topples the rest as the one appearing in search boxes the most.The searched term can be representative of the times, popular trends, or simply the newest buzzword; whatever the case, each special feature examines why Internet users are in a frenzy to find this topic.
WordSpot.com Search Rank: #76
according to www.wordspot.com
Overture Searches On Site: 561,478
according to the December 2001 report from www.overture.com
If you have been an avid fan of video games since the days of Atari's Space Invaders and Nintendo's Mario Bros., then the new Xbox will surely blow you away.
Microsoft's Xbox, a console complete with an 8Gb hard disk, built-in Ethernet port for broadband connectivity and a DVD drive, is ready to take on the big boys, Sony and Nintendo.
Although Bill Gates is adamant about capturing a piece of the North American video game industry, with estimated revenues of $11.4 billion annually, sources say he allegedly invested between $1 to $2 billion in his efforts to promote and subsidize the manufacturing cost of the Xbox.
But how can the Xbox compete in this mature market? Easy, by decreasing the cost of components over time and sticking to its plan of subsidizing the cost of the console to recover the expenses through sales of games. But while theory is fine and dandy, can Microsoft actually apply it?
It's probable that kids and not-so-young individuals have been waiting for something fresh in this industry. But Microsoft should learn from Sega's experience, as it pulled its Dreamcast from the market because it was no longer willing to cover losses associated with hardware production.
Now it's time for a new underdog.
Microsoft is putting its time, money and reputation on the line to conquer a piece of the pie with the Xbox, but no matter how much money you put into R&D (Research & Development), it all comes down to the games.
If the Xbox can secure exclusive games and lure hardcore players away from the established leaders, it will be on the road to breaking even.
With recent deals with Sega (now focusing on developing games and not consoles) and Konami to develop new titles, the Xbox is trying to catch up to Sony and its PlayStation 2, which has shipped over 20 million consoles worldwide to date.
Microsoft, largely relying on third-party game developers, is in a dangerous position as a newcomer to the market because it has to offer something that others don't. In this case, its innovative and exclusive games. After unveiling the game "Malice" during the Xbox launch, however, Argonaut developers will now make the game available for Sony's PlayStation 2. So much for exclusivity.
As it usually takes about three years before a manufacturer makes its money back, we all know that Microsoft is in a good position to take a financial hit for a couple of years before seeing a penny. It is estimated that it will be making between $20 and $30 million in five years, an indication that the Xbox is here to stay.
"The Xbox launch was the best launch I have ever been a part of, and that goes all the way back to launches like that of Nintendo Entertainment System, Super NES, 3DO, and Atari," said Dan DeMatteo, president of Gamestop Inc. If the experts say it, then it must be true.
So if consumers are willing to try something new, the Xbox will likely be around for a while. And if Microsoft follows the marketing mentality of pumping out exclusive quality games, then it might find a place in your living room.
Game on!
AskMen.com's Analysis
Of The Longevity Of This Term's Popularity - 7/10


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EU antitrust body seeks views on Google concessions
Google's rivals will have the chance to comment on concessions proposed by the U.S. internet company to end an EU antitrust investigation, in a move that could force the company to improve its offer or even scupper a deal.
Complainants including Microsoft, online travel sites TripAdvisor and Expedia, newspaper publishers, mapping sites and price comparison sites, will have around a month to respond, the EU competition authority said on Thursday.
Several of them including lobby group ICOMP, which counts Microsoft and four other complainants among its members, said they were likely to press for more concessions.
Google, the world's most popular search engine, submitted its proposals earlier this month after the European Commission outlined four areas of concern about its business practices, saying these could restrict consumer choice and competition.
EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said at the time he would try to reach a decision, including legally-binding commitments, based on Google's proposals. But this could change, depending on the arguments made by Google's rivals.
Without a deal, Google could face a hefty fine.
The EU competition authority said on Thursday Google's proposals included marking out its services from rival products in Internet search results and providing links to at least three competing search engines.
Specialized websites will be able to opt out from the use of all their content in Google's own specialized search services and will also be able to mark out specific categories of information to prevent its use by Google.
Publishers will be allowed to control the display of their content in Google news and will no longer be obliged to use online search adverts exclusively from Google.
The search giant will also scrap restrictions preventing advertisers from transferring their search advertising campaigns to rival platforms.
If approved, Google's undertakings would be binding for five years in Europe and monitored by a trustee.
While Google's proposals are more far-reaching than those agreed with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission in January in a similar investigation, they are still insufficient, Google's opponents said.
"It is clear that mere labeling is not any kind of solution to the competition concerns that have been identified. Google should implement the same ranking policy to all websites," ICOMP said in a statement.
British price comparison site Foundem was equally critical.
"The early signs are that Google's proposals will fall far short of this minimum requirement (to treat both its and rival services equally)," Foundem Chief Executive Shivaun Raff said.
"Instead of promising to end its abusive practices, Google's proposal seems to offer a half-hearted attempt to dilute their anti-competitive effects, by labeling Google's own services and throwing in some token links to competitors' services alongside them," she said.
Lobbying group FairSearch, whose members include Expedia, TripAdvisor, French comparison site Twenga, urged EU regulators to give them more than a month to assess Google's proposals.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Rex Merrifield and Mark Potter)


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We'll tell you as soon as tickets go on sale:
Marie Chouinard, one of the world's most daring and original choreographers, presents a double bill of dance.
The evening's first piece is titled Soft virtuosity, still humid, on the edge. This new work explores different tempos, from a frantic pace to extreme slowness, through various forms of perambulation. Captured and projected live, the dancers' faces become the place of slow transformations, acting like kaleidoscopes in constant movement.
In 1980, Chouinard discovered the book Mouvements by the Belgian surrealist Henri Michaux (1899-1984), containing 64 pages of India-ink drawings. Chouinard decrypted these images and reinterpreted them into a unique choreographic score titled HENRI MICHAUX: MOUVEMENTS, an ingenious meeting of dance and visual arts.
School discount performances: Mon 7.30pm.
Group Discounts:
Groups 8+ 20% off stalls seats for most performances.